Take my Hand
by Ialwaysshipthedoomedones
Summary: 'Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you' Carla/Frank/Peter Warnings for domestic abuse and rape. Carla needs saving, but only by her knight in faded leather..
1. Chapter 1

A fist fell down onto her face, tears fell like broken shards of glass and they glistened painfully, dangerously in the light, but they did nothing to lighten his anger. Blood trickled down her snow-white, ice-cold skin. It tangled in her hair that fell below her shoulders. No words or pleas would stop him in his brutal attack on her. She used to fight once. But the energy that once oozed from every pore of Carla's fragile body had faded. Gradually with every word of abuse Frank would hurl her way, it was slowly beaten from her tired body until it dissolved into nothing. She closed her eyes, her lashes were thick with blood. As he lashed her with slaps and hits, she remembered. She remembers the hope that used to radiate from her. She remembers how it felt to be so madly in love, that even guilt couldn't hold her back. She remembers how it felt to fall asleep in his arms. She was elated, on top of the world, even hurting those closest to her didn't hold her back. She was misunderstood, but in those days, she hadn't cared.

Now as she lays on the floor, the cold kitchen tiles rubbing against her bruised skin. She wishes she had cared, she wishes she had treated everyone better because now she wouldn't be so alone. She was foolish to think she could do this on her own. Pretending she was over Liam when really he haunted all her dreams, leaving her restless and regretful. She convinced everyone she had moved on and that she was happy but the hardest part was convincing herself. The bruises will fade, she reminds herself. The scars will heal. Her heart however, will never recover.

Again she had found herself falling for someone whose hands were tied and whose heart wasn't free. It was always the way for Carla, she never found love until it was too late. With Liam she got lucky, she loved him fiercely and in return he loved her back. Despite his girlfriend. But just as every good thing in her life that was cruelly snatched away, leaving Carla with a bitter pain that bubbled inside her every time her mind slipped to thoughts of her Liam. With Peter though, luck had not been on her side. The fierce, unrelenting love she felt for him was completely unrequited, or so she believed.

Frank had just been a rebound, someone to make her forget. But all too late she had seen him for the monster the was. And for Carla- life would never be the same again.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I promise there'll be some Carter real soon, stay with me!**_

A thick layer of make-up covers Carla's exposed skin. The drops of foundation mingle into her cuts and the blood still lingers across her face. Her body is damaged, her skin is scarred. She lays on her sofa, her make up smudging into the cream fabric of the cushions. She wonders how many bruises this will cause? How many more broken ribs? And for the first time she wonders if she's worth it. Her pitiful excuse for a life hardly seems worth the effort any more. Every movement, every word, every breath is empty.

She counts the hours till he will return. 6 hours, twenty two minutes and ten seconds. She knows this exactly for Frank is never a moment late nor a moment early. She could try to hide her tear-stained mascara marks that now lay across the sofa but she knows her efforts will simply be wasted. A single salty tear drips down her face. The old Carla would have wiped it away. Crying only shows weakness. But Carla was broken. A shell of her former self. She is withdrawn and alone. Her body longs to be held but her cries are never answered. She is only met with the cold, hard palm of his hand or the end of his fist as he beats away another little part of Carla Connor.

She told herself that it was just a phase, he never meant to raise his hand and lower it to her skin, he never meant to leave the red mark that stung painfully as it made contact with the cool harsh cold. But this phase didn't end. A year crawled by and still he didn't stop. Time after time she would beg and plead, but nothing worked. Nothing she did was ever enough for him or anyone else. She had given up work long ago, allowing Frank to take total control despite the fact she still owned more than half. There was only two people that could possibly have helped Carla from this mess. One was living on a cruise ship with her fiancé and the other was off holidaying with his wife, and when he wasn't he avoided her every glance. He avoided her like she was booze. Deadly and dangerous.

Carla pulls her coat tightly around her and leaves the confinements of her flat. She walks down the street, the harsh wind catches her hair, the bitter chill stings her bruises. Judging eyes follow her along the road. If she catches their gaze they throw her a sympathetic smile and turn away quickly, fearing they may catch something. She laughs bitterly. Don't they know domestic abuse isn't contagious?

She doesn't know where she is heading, she knows she has no place that she is welcome. She longs to be free of him. But the hold he has over her is too strong. And besides. She has no one left. Tears escape her stone cold eyes and she makes no effort to stop them.

Finally she comes to a halt on a wooden bench in an isolated park. she perches carefully, the pain shoots through her body but Carla doesn't let it show. At least some of her old traits still remained. She lifts her gaze from the floor for a second to see a face she has never been so glad to see. A pair of concerned eyes stare back at her as she whispers her name softly.

''Carla?"

**_*Reviews are loved like Carter scenes!*_**


	3. Chapter 3

''Hey you!'' Michelle said fondly as she pulled her best friend in for a close embrace. Carla rested her head against Michelle, enjoying the feeling of being comforted and held, she breathed in softly, revelling in Michelle's familiar, welcoming smell. Michelle held Carla tightly, guilt flooding her entire body. She felt Carla flinch in pain as held her and she realised now how alone she had been, and Michelle had left her in her most desperate time of need.

''Oh Carla, what's he done to you?'' She whispered as she pulled away to look her friend in the eye, her arms still clinging to Carla's waist. Only now could she see the bruises and cuts that mangled Carla's usually immaculate face. She lifted Carla's top up to see her stomach black and blue. Her arms had bruises where he had obviously held her wrists in a vice like grip. Michelle was horrified, and disgusted.

Carla didn't speak as Michelle continued to stare at her deeply. She didn't speak as Michelle took her hand in hers and lead her home, back to her flat. Michelle sat her down on the sofa and wandered into the kitchen, flicking on the kettle and retrieving two mugs from the cupboard. She made two strong coffees and took them into the living room before sitting down beside Carla and passing her the steaming hot drink. Carla smiled gratefully and placed her drink down on the coffee table, sighing deeply.

''How long?" Michelle asked, her voice low and quiet.

"'bout a year''

"Oh Carla, love. Why didn't you tell me?" Carla couldn't bring herself to meet Michelle's gaze, her eyes staring at the floor.

''Didn't wanna play the victim. You know me, stubborn old cow. Besides, after everything I've put you through, hardly seemed fair." Carla's eyes glistened with tears that slowly began to flow. She didn't bother to wipe them away.

Michelle wrapped her arms around Carla and pulled her close, wiping away her tears as she did. She held her as she cried and cried. She cried for Paul, for Liam, for Peter even for Tony. She'd loved him once despite the bitter ending. She cried for the person she had become whilst trying to avoid the person she was. She cried for each bruise that lingered on her skin, for every drop of blood that she had shed. She cried until she couldn't cry any more and she found herself falling asleep in her best friend's arms.

Michelle lay Carla down so that she rested against the pillow and placed a blanket around her. She sat beside her, stroking her hair while she slept. Desperately wishing she could have been there sooner. She feared too much of her Carla had faded away already.

A while later and Carla stirred from her sleep, her eyes partially blinded by the light as she sat up against the arm of the sofa. ''Hey sleepy'' Michelle smiled.

''Hey'' Carla smiled back, relieved to awake to a kind, familiar face and not Frank. ''Michelle, I really appreciate you being her an' all but you should go. Frank'll be home in a minute.''

''Carla, I'm not leaving you alone with him for another second, no chance.''

''Eh?''

''He's not gonna win, not any more. Okay? I'm not leaving. Besides, I need somewhere to stay, so it makes perfect sense."

''Oh and it's that simple is it?"

"It is now"

"Michelle, he'll kill ya." Carla whispered "You've gotta let me deal with it in me own way. Please, just go before he gets back."

''Carla.."

"Go Michelle" Carla stormed over to the door, opening it for Michelle to leave. Her eyes met Michelle's for a second before she looked away, signalling to the door for a second time.

"I'm not letting this go Carla." Michelle spoke firmly as she walked out the door, hearing it slam closed behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

The rain hammered hard against the window. It wasn't just a gentle pitter patter, it pounded and battered, bruising the window with intensity and fury. Carla lay curled up in a ball where he had cruelly flung her. Discarding her when her job was done. She felt used and frightened. Like a little girl lost and far away from home. She tried not to move too much, pain sears through her body every time she does. She closes her eyes, trying desperately to block his disgusting act out but all she can see is him leering in her face.

''It was your fault Carla. You made me do it''

She blinks furiously and pulls herself up, quickly bolting the door, terrified he might return. The silence is deafening making Carla realise how alone she is. For a brief moment she thinks of finding Michelle but the embarrassment of that morning floods her mind and she realises how rude she was to her closest companion.

Instead she grabs her phone, her thumb lingering over his name, dangerously close to pressing the button. In an instant she does, not thinking about the consequences, just that she needs someone here. Someone that can protect her if Frank returns. She almost hangs up but when she hears his husky voice lingering through her phone she feels instantly safer.

''Carla? Carla you there?"

"Peter" Her voice is low and you can hear the hint that she is close to tears, holding them like only Carla can.

"Can you come here, please? I er.. I really need you"

"Gimmie five minutes" His voice is soft and full of worry, Carla hears the click of the phone and breathes a sigh of relief. She pulls her knees up under her chin and wraps her arms around herself. And silently, she allows her broken tears to fall. Only now does she realise how bad she let things get. She wishes she was stronger and that she had fought him off. Especially tonight. A while later a loud tap of the door startles Carla from her thoughts.

She finds herself frozen, unable to move until she hears a voice from the other side. ''Carla, let me in love''

Carla moved from her spot on the floor and unhooked the latch, allowing the person on the other side access. She quickly sinks back into her seat, hiding herself from the world.

Peter steps into her flat, his eyes instantly falling upon the broken woman curled up on the floor of her flat, she looks into his eyes, and he sees the fear, the regret, the disgust. But most of all the self hatred. He is quick to notice the smashed vases and photos, the glass that scatters the floor, the red seeping from her cut hands. He knows what's happened here and he knows who is responsible.

He curses himself a thousand times over for not stepping in sooner, for not convincing her to leave him earlier, for not making her see that she was worth so much more. Especially to him. He had realised he'd fallen in love with her a long time ago, but he pretended to everyone, even himself. And now she'd suffered the ultimate price for his cowardice, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her.

He steps closer to her and kneels against the cold hard floor, Peter gently reaches his hand to cup her cheek without saying a word, but she flinches away. Carla fights an inner battle with herself, with the desperate longing to be held but the fear of being touched.

''Carla, it's me, it's me love''

Carla's eyes meet his again, confused and terrified ''Peter?'' She whispers, like she is asking for confirmation of something she already knows. He nods his head softly knowing she craves the reassurance and as soon as he does Carla allows her self to fall into his embrace, and he wraps his arms around her. She feels safer but not safe. But at least for now, she is not alone.


	5. Chapter 5

_Just have a little patience_  
><em>I'm still hurting from a love I lost<em>  
><em>I'm feeling your frustration<em>  
><em>Any minute all the pain will stop.<em>

Peter held her near lifeless body tightly against him, trying to provide a sense of security. The only way he knew she was even alive was the way her body shock violently whenever he moved slightly. Paranoid and petrified he would hurt her too. The logical part of her mind told her he never would, however she also believed Frank wasn't the monster she had seen tonight.

Feeling his leg stiffen in pain from being still for too long, Peter shifted Carla gently. His hand moving from her back to her arms. He froze as she screamed out in fear, her limbs waving wilding trying to fight him off. He looked into her eyes, bewildered and childlike, innocent and completely afraid.

"Carla, it's okay. It's okay, it's me. It's Peter. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise"

Carla gazed into Peter's eyes. The man she had been in love with for more than two years, but her love had never been reciprocated. Always unrequited. She saw the tears welling in his warm brown pools as he watched her and then she knew, she knew she could trust him. And although he may not love her, he would never abuse her like he had. He would never take away every ounce of dignity she had.

_Just hold me close inside your arms tonight_  
><em>Don't be too hard on my emotions.<em>

__Carla spoke for the first time in almost two hours, her voice a hoarse whisper. "I know, I do know and I'm sorry I just-"

"Hey, no apologising. Nothing that has happened to you is your fault Carla. None of it" Peter interrupted with a soft but firm tone.

"I have to go home Carla. I need to sort out Simon and Leanne, tell them I'll be away for a few days, I'll be back. I promise, I'm not going to let him hurt you any more"

_My heart is numb, has no feeling_  
><em>So while I'm still healing<em>  
><em>Just try and have a little patience.<em>

"Please Peter, please come back. I know I've been a cow to you this last few months, and I know you don't feel the same but please, don't leave me alone. If he comes back I don't know what I'll do. Please Peter, I'm begging you, just don't not come back? I don't deserve you but I need someone here. I need you here." Carla's words were hurried and desperate, bringing a raging pain in Peter's chest as he compared it to the hollowness in her empty eyes. But the words he mulled over most were the ones that confused him greatly. He didn't love her? Did he? Would his heart ache with pain if this was Leanne in his arms? Would he feel physically sick if he noticed the ugly pink scars along his wife's arm, knowing she had caused them herself? He didn't think they were ugly on Carla though. They were her battle scars, the visible map of all the agony she was in. But was it love? Or addiction?

"I'll be back Carla. You can count on that" With a fleeting kiss on her forehead, he headed for the door.

"20 minutes max, promise" And with that he was gone, leaving Carla curled tightly in a ball, praying with everything she had that he would keep his word.

_I really wanna start over again_  
><em>I know you wanna be my salvation<em>  
><em>The one that I can always depend.<em>

__Peter could hear the cupboards slamming and banging as he climbed the steps to the flat, knowing his wife was angry already made him wonder how she'd react to his news.

"Where the hell have you been Peter?"

"Oh give it a break Leanne, not everything revolves around you"

"So, come on, you've been with her haven't you? Suppose you've been drowning your sorrows together eh?"

"For fuck sake Leanne she's been raped. RAPED. Do you have any idea what she's been going through? Do you? He's been beating her everyday for the last year. And it's my fault. I should have seen the signs. I should never pushed her to him"

Peter kicked the leg of the table in anger as he tried to take in what was going on.

_I'll try to be strong_  
><em>Believe me I'm trying to move on<em>  
><em>It's complicated but understand me.<em>

He knew he loved Leanne but he had also come to realise that he was_ in_ love with Carla. In a way he had never felt before. And being here with Leanne was another moment that he wasn't with Carla, another moment she was alone and scared.

"I've got to go, I promised I wouldn't be long" Peter began shoving some clothes into a bag, not caring what as long as he could get back to Carla.

"You're going back?" She spat, anger evident.

"Of course, what do expect"

"Why Peter?"

"Because I love her!" Peter's voice bellowed through the flat as he spoke the words he'd been avoiding for years. Without another word he left the flat. Running to his car and driving faster than possible back to Carla.

_'Cause the scars run so deep_  
><em>It's been hard but I have to believe<em>  
><em>Just have a little patience <em>


End file.
